Public equity report: Contineum’s NASDAQ listing, Oruka’s financing-merger combo

While Contineum’s IPO certainly captured some attention as investors read the tea leaves for signs of increased appetite for new listings, Oruka’s $275 million funding was the week’s largest for a company set to land on NASDAQ, in this case via reverse merger.

The latest data point for measuring biotechs’ IPO performance in 2024 arrived Friday when Contineum Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTNM) shed 4% of its value in its first trading day after pricing a downsized IPO at the bottom of its proposed range. After dipping as far as 13% below their offering price, Contineum’s shares rallied in the afternoon, nearly recovering their losses before ending the day down a few ticks...